Program Guide 11-15-2017

Almanac

November 15

1738 William Herschel – German-born English composer, oboist, astronomer (d.1822); discovered the planet Uranus, along with two of its major moons--Titania and Oberon--and two moons of Saturn; also, the first to discover infrared radiation; found time to write 24 symphonies, and many other pieces.

1832 first performance of Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5 'Reformation' in Berlin; written in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession, a key document of Lutheranism; although it's not encountered in the concert hall very often, it is better known today than it was during Mendelssohn's lifetime.

1927 premiere of Jerome Kern's musical Show Boat in Washington, D.C.; book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on Edna Ferber's bestselling novel of the same name; with themes including racial prejudice and tragic, enduring love, Show Boat represented a watershed moment in the history of American musicals.

1930 first performance of Igor Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms, in Brussels; commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra; the composer said, “It is not a symphony in which I have included Psalms to be sung. On the contrary, it is the singing of the Psalms that I am symphonizing.”

1942 Daniel Barenboim – Argentine-born Israeli pianist and conductor (75 years old); titanic figure in classical music as music director of several major symphonic and opera orchestras with numerous recordings as conductor and pianist; known for his work with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, a Seville-based ensemble of young Arab and Israeli musicians; he is a firm critic of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.